


The Star-Maker and the Dream-Maker

by 67Impala



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, idk its just a cute idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-10 02:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5565571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/67Impala/pseuds/67Impala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Poe Dameron comprises a list of ten things Finn must do and experience for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> this was just an strange idea that i wished someone had written but no one had, so here i am. enjoy!

“I don’t know how on Earth I let you drag me into this.” Finn muttered, showing a playful scowl in an attempt to hide his excitement that Poe could see right through.

Poe didn’t remember when he had come up with the idea for the list, only that it had consumed his daydreams for the last couple of weeks, trying to find the perfect activities to introduce Finn to his new, free, life. Poe hadn’t realised how much Finn didn’t know, how many little things that he took for granted that Finn had never heard of, had never experienced before. The life of a First Order Stormtrooper was a solitary and isolated one he had learned.

“You love it really.” The older man replied, flashing a toothy smile as he lead both of them out into the cool, clear night.

Poe took out the folded piece of paper he’d been carrying in his back pocket and unfurled it, making sure to hide the contents from the young man opposite him.

“Right, are you ready? The first item on the list is fireworks.” Poe smiled mischievously as Finn’s eyes widened as he in took a breath sharply before ducked towards him.

“Fire?” He whispered, “Isn’t that against protocol?”

Poe let out a hearty laugh, God that boy was so adorable. “Finn. You’ve got to learn to live a little. Anyway, fireworks are not against protocol as they do not contain any _actual_ fire. Technically.”

Finn breathed out slowly in relief while Poe rolled his eyes and continued to lead them down a steep hill into a wide clearing. Earlier that day Poe had set out some fireworks at the bottom of the grassy field, he could then control them from the space he had selected for the both of them to watch the display from.

Finn’s look of relief quickly turned into a small frown, “So if they don’t actually set on fire, what are fireworks and why do they have the word fire in their name?”

“You’ll see.” Poe gave him a soft smile before indicating for the other man to sit down on the grass, “And you better appreciate them because I went to a hell lot of trouble for these, Big Deal.”

“I always appreciate everything you do for me.” A warm, sincere smile appeared on Finn’s face and Poe couldn’t help but return the affection. He stared at the younger man for a few more seconds, caught up in his glow.

“Don’t you go all sappy on me now.” Poe finally stuttered. “Anyway, here we go.” He wrapped his arm around Finn’s waist to help lower him to the ground, Finn reaching up to wrap his arms around his neck to keep his back straight in order to make sure his healing scars were undisturbed. Getting up and down was the only issue Finn still faced after his encounter with Kylo Ren but he was making leaps and bounds in his physiotherapy that made Poe beam every time Finn raced back, or as fast as he could, to tell him the good news he received almost every week.

Finn huffed a thank you before becoming immediately fascinated by the long blades of grass that now surrounded him. He never seemed to get tired of anything and had such a bright curiosity about everything it was one of the things Poe truly loved most about him.

“Everything is so _alive_ here, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Finn turned and gazed excitedly at Poe.

“What do you mean?” Poe inquired, not sure what the other man was referring to.

“It’s all around you, you can hear it and feel it, there’s always the wind or the animals or just something. It was always so quiet at Starkiller Base, and cold.” He added.

“I’m so glad you got out, Finn.” Poe said fondly.

Finn turned his attention back to the grass, “So am I.” He whispered.

Poe dug out the remote for the fireworks from his jacket and set the timer before leaning gently against Finn to attract him his attention.

“Hey buddy,” Finn looked up, his deep brown eyes peaceful and his face extremely close to Poe’s, and smiled softly. “Look at the sky, it’s about to start.”

The both turned their gaze to the black night sky and Poe shuffled them a little to make sure they were both facing the right way, taking satisfaction when he stopped but remained pressed close, shoulder on, to the man next to him.

Slowly a whistle started up before shooting into the sky in a burst of white light and exploding above them in a shower of silver droplets. Finn clutched at Poe’s arms, his face wide in amazement as more and more rockets filed up into the sky one by one and bursting over their heads in a rainbow of colours. Time passed quickly as they both became enchanted with the display above them, not noticing anything except the rockets and each other.

Finn’s head snapped towards Poe in awe, “Did you seen that? Did. You. See. That.” Finn demanded, his voice getting louder in order to compete with the rockets. Poe laughed doubling over, but not taking his eyes off Finn’s face, lit up by the explosions of colour above.

“Look at that one!” Finn screeched, jolting Poe and he pointed at an orange and it spiralled quickly up into the darkness, disappearing for a moment but then reappearing with a loud crack that sent flashes shooting outwards and artificial sparks raining down on them. Finn breathed in sharply, rendered speechless, as the drops of light appeared around the pair, stretching towards the ground like willow branches and lighting up their eyes in a warm, white glow.

Poe glanced at the rockets continually bursting in the sky, not wanting to look away from Finn for too long who was frozen in wonderment at the lights around them. Finn was still clutching both of Poe’s arms as they sat facing each other now, Finn watching the trails of glitter fall between them and Poe gazing into the eyes of the man opposite.

The trance was spoken by a rush of screamer fireworks launching up into the sky as Finn jumped and swiftly covering his ears, giggling and mouthing “What is this?!” to Poe who was roaring with laughter at the other man’s reaction.

“Fireworks! Obviously!” Poe shouted back, loving the look of bewilderment of Finn’s face.

Finally the screamers died and was replaced with a steady thread of glowing chrysanthemum shaped fireworks bursting softly above them.

“This is amazing.” Finn stated confidently, “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

“Well, not to brag, but I am something.” Poe replied with a sly smile.

Finn stared at him with a puzzled expression before Poe waved it off, “Anyway, I know fireworks are one of my favourite things, they always seem so bright and magical even if everything else isn’t.”

Poe smiled sadly for a moment before turning back to the sky, “Look at that one!” Poe pointed at a large rocket that just burst in the centre of their view with a resounding _crack_. “I love the loud ones that you know people can see and hear them for miles around.”

“I like the ones that seem like they rain down on you, that you can almost touch.” Finn responded, still staring up into the sky.

“Well, be grateful that I put lots in the finale for you then,” Poe teased, “Come on, it's the beginning of the end.”

Poe leant back onto the grass and put his hands behind his head to prop it up, he was soon joined by Finn who mirrored his movements, giving Poe a gracious smile before turning back to the sky.

Suddenly a huge stream of rockets shot into the air bursting in large spider shapes across the sky, the sparks blossoming out before being enveloped by the darkness. Sparks began to cascade down on Poe and Finn with a satisfying crackle as the light hit the tops of their heads and shoulders before fizzling away. The light of the stars caught in Finn’s eyes and the pair grinned, wrapped up in the dreamlike scene that surrounded them.

The rockets finally began to die out, silence beginning to fall upon the two men apart from the distant hum left in their eyes from the sound of the explosions.

“Did you like that?” Poe was the first to speak, eager to know if Finn was really as amazed as he had appeared.

Finn slowly met his eyes, looking completely overwhelmed, before launching himself at the man opposite.

“I loved it. Thank you so much, Poe.” Finn squeezed tightly and Poe returned the hug, taking care to mind his injuries and smiling widely at the mention of his name by the other man.

“You’re so welcome Finn. Anything for my Big Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to make things clear, this is obviously set where everyone is happy etc and no one is away on missions or anything and where poe and finn just have some time to themselves.


	2. Baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i mean of course they have cupcakes in the star wars universe.

Poe bounded into the dimly lit room, as he flicked the switch on the wall and flooded light onto the sleeping body in the bed a few feet away from him.

A groan rose from Finn who was now being shook gently awake by Poe.

“Come on mumbles, it’s time for you to continue your life experience lessons.” Poe whispered softly, trying to ease the other man into consciousness.

It was the middle of the night and Poe had snuck out of his room in the pilot’s quarters to make his way across the base towards the infirmary. Finn had been put up in a small room close by in case of an emergency or if Finn had another one of his bad episodes again, the boy had fought so hard to get out but the First Order’s conditioning had still left its mark.

“What time is it? Why are you here?” Finn mumbled, finally turning over peeking out from underneath the covers at the other man who had sat at the end of the bed.

“I thought I’d join you for a midnight cuddle,” Poe rolled his eyes incredulously before giving Finn a light shove. “Come on, we’ve got urgent matters to attend to, Big Deal.”

Finn slowly slipped out of the bed, wearing a resistance issued pair of matching sweat pants and top, and put his socked feet into his boots. Noiselessly, he stood up and grinned at Poe, eager to find out what their late night adventure would be.

“What are we going to do?” Finn whispered, following Poe as his bedroom door shut swiftly behind them.

“You’ll see.” Poe teased as he led the other man down the winding corridors, the only sound being the squeaking of their shoes on the shiny floor.

“It better be good to beat the fireworks y’know.”

“Listen. It has to be, I didn’t break into the resistance kitchens for nothing.” Poe added, flashing the other man a warm, slightly sleepy smile as they turned a corner into the main canteen. Poe flashed an ID card at the door that Finn was fairly sure wasn’t his and pushed open the door.

“Here we are!” Poe stretched out his arms in triumph. “The second item on the list is, are you ready?” He motioned towards Finn.

“Yes, just get on with it!” Finn grinned.

“Alright, if you’re sure. The second item is, baking.”

Finn’s forehead burrowed in confusion once again to Poe’s delight.

“Baking? Like bread?”

“Trust you to pick the most boring part of baking. No. Not bread, Big Deal.” Poe rolled his eyes and flashed Finn a smile as he started to arrange some of the bowls he’d got out onto the surface. “We’re going to be baking some cakes because a) I’ve got one hell of a sweet tooth and b) baking is fun and I bet you’ve never iced a cupcake in your life and that’s just sad.”

“What’s a cupcake?”

Poe let out a long groan and looked at Finn in mock despair.

“Cupcakes are the best gift that has been bestowed on us in this galaxy, Finn.” Poe gestured for Finn to join him behind the kitchen island in front of him. “I find it hard to believe that Kylo Ren didn’t have his Stormtroopers baking cupcakes every Sunday but whatever.”

“Right. First off because I’m lazy and I feel bad about breaking into the kitchen anyway we are going to use a powder mixture.” Poe stated and took out a bowl and poured a sachet of light brown powder into it.

Finn watched curiously before dabbing his finger into the rising pile of fine mixture and bringing it up to his nose to smell. He sniffed deeply and immediately began sneezing to Poe’s amusement.

“Ugh!” Finn stuttered out. “What is that?”

“It’s the cupcake mixture, I literally just told you. And don’t breathe it all in we’ve got to cook and eat this yet.” Poe batted Finn’s hand away from his face.

“Eat?” Finn said in shock, “How are we supposed to eat this?!”

Finn poked his finger into the powder once again.

“Hey! Stop that.” Poe tutted, his eyes twinkling as he looked at the other man. “Look, we’ve got to add a couple of Gorinthian eggs and then give mix it all up, and then we can bake it.”

“Okay…” Finn seemed unsure but began to unravel the two eggs from their box anyway.

Poe took the eggs out of Finn’s hands and cracked them expertly into the bowl before taking out a hand mixer from underneath the counter.

“Did you know that my mother was a pilot too, Finn? She was amazing.” Poe asked as he fixed the whisks to the beater. “Anyway I didn’t see much of her, but when I did she always baked. She did it properly of course, with all fresh ingredients, not like us.”

Poe laughed as Finn watched him intently, absorbing every word that came out of the pilot’s mouth like usual.

“I kind of assumed she just liked it but it wasn’t until I joined up too that I realised it was one of her ways for coping with all the shit she’d seen. So, I ended up picking up the same habit. Sometimes I come out here, in the night when it’s all quiet and just bake a batch of something. It helps I guess. Either way my squadron always appreciate the goodies anyway.”

“Maybe this’ll help me too.” Finn smiled softly, “I don’t know what to do with my time anymore, I have so much freedom here.”

“That’s a good thing, Finn.” Poe nudged him slightly, giving him a warm smile before pressing the mixer into his hands. “We’ve just got to get this batter going then we can put these babies in, alright?”

“Um, I’ve never used one of these before.” Finn gestured towards the mixer with his head.

“Right.” Poe layered his hands on top of the other mans, standing behind him and set the mixer into the bowl. “All you’ve gotta do is push up this button.”

Poe moved both of their thumbs over the button and set it on a slow mix.

“Woah!” Finn jumped at the sudden movement, somehow managing to make Poe’s smile wider.

“Then you can mix in the powder, now, you’ve got to make sure you’ve mixed in all of it and there isn’t any pockets of the stuff left as then our cupcakes won’t taste very nice.”

“Right.” Finn answered and began moving the mixer in circular motions around the bowl at Poe’s instruction, concentrating on the task at hand so much that his tongue stuck out of his mouth a little.

“You’re so cute when you do that.” Poe mumbled, almost to himself.

“What?” Finn said loudly over the noise of the mixer.

Poe coughed as a red flush creeped slowly up his neck made worse by his close proximity to the other man.

“Nothing.” He cleared his throat and glanced down at the batter. “Alright, this seems to be about done, good job.”

Finn instantly lit up at the praise and stepped away from the bowl, separating the men.

“What now?” He asked, tipping the bowl towards him to look at the batter which had now been thoroughly mixed.

“We’ve got to separate it up and put it in the cupcake cases so we can bake them.” Poe pointed at the tray of cases and picked up the spoons he’d got out and handed a pair to Finn. “Here. Now we simply just…”

Poe scooped out a dollop of the mixture using his spoon and plopped it into one of the dozen cases on the tray. He scraped off the remaining mixture off the spoon using his spatula into the case.

“All clear?”

“Yes Captain.” Finn replied, giving a Poe a radiant smile while he copied the other man’s actions and filled the cupcake cases with the mixture. “So what do cupcakes taste like?”

“Oh man, they’re delicious and so, so sweet. Just don’t eat too much of them or you’ll get a bit of a cupcake tummy.” Poe drew back and looked Finn up and down a moment before leaning back into the other man’s warmth, “Actually I think a bit of tummy pudge would look good on you, Big Deal.”

Poe laughed and blushed heavily along with Finn who had turned away in embarrassment.

“Hey, you’d look just as handsome any which way listen to me.”

“I don’t think so but thank you.” Finn muttered before quickly changing the subject by lifting up the tray towards Poe, “What do we do with this now?”

Poe frowned slightly before going back to the cupcakes.

“Right, we’ve got to put this in the oven for about five minutes. God I love this kitchen, who knew ovens meant for feeding the masses would be so useful.” Poe smiled and slide the tray into the oven below the counter before straightening up again to face the other man. “Now we’ve just go to wait.”

Finn nodded sleepily as Poe turned and leant back against the counter. Finn copied him, pressed close to his side.

Since Poe had met Finn in that horrific Starkiller Base, he’d known he was something special. Poe Dameron had been with guys before but never had he felt this invested in and protective of one person before. Poe sighed deeply as Finn’s head rolled onto his shoulder as he closed his eyes, Poe should have known better than to take him out so late as he still got exhausted quickly ever since his injury. Poe was just grateful that he could spend this much time with him and that Finn seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.

The beeping of the oven surprised Poe out of his daydream and made Finn blink sleepily awake. Poe shifted the other man off him as he bent down to turn off the oven, put on some oven gloves and take out the tray.

Poe brought the tray level with his face and breathed in deeply, gazing at the now fully risen collection of cakes in front of him.

“Here, take a whiff of that.” Poe moved the tray in the direction of Finn’s face.

The other man leant forward smoothly and breathed in, lifting his hand to poke the cakes at the same time. Poe smiled softly at this and brought the tray down.

“You see that bounce?” Poe took Finn’s hand in his own and poked the cupcake again, watching the sponge rise up again. “If the cake is springy, you know it’s baked properly. Remember that for next time.”

“Next time?” Finn asked in surprise.

“Yeah, of course.” Poe blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I mean if you want to, you haven’t even tried them yet.”

“I would love to.” Finn replied, “Do we eat them now?”

“Not unless you want to eat them plain, they always taste better once you let them cool and then we can ice them.”

“Ice?” Finn asked, puzzled.

“Icing. It’s like a sugary paste that you put on the cupcake to make them taste better and look nicer. You’ll see.” Poe moved to put the tray into a cooler compartment to speed up the cooling process. “I’ve also got packaged icing as well, again because I’m lazy and again because if you’re as handsome as me you can swing a few favour in the kitchen.”

Poe shot Finn a fake dazzling smile and laughed at Finn’s neutral expression.

“Is that how you got us in here in the first place then?” Finn asked, “You know people in the kitchen?”

“Buddy, I know people everywhere on this base. Being the best pilot of the resistance gets you a sway with some of them as well, but I always return the favour.”

Poe winked and turned to get the cakes out again. Finn looked back at him, his eyes wide.

“What? I’m kidding!” The corner of Poe’s mouth rose, “I don’t do anything like that, or bad for that matter. Honestly, I’m a good-two-shoes, it’s only you who bring out the bad side in me. Making me break into kitchens, steal fireworks and what not.”

“You’re a liar, Poe Dameron.” Finn answered. “You did all of those things of your own accord.”

Poe laughed whole heartedly and placed the tray on the side.

“Whatever you say, Big Deal. Anyway, here are our cakes and now we’ve got to use these.” He held up a pair of icing bags, grinning. “To decorate them.”

Finn took one of the bags out of Poe’s hand and brought it up to his face to inspect it closely.

“How do you-” Finn began before he squeezed the bag and icing came shooting out, squirting onto his nose.

Poe burst out laughing at the scene, not taking his eyes off Finn’s shocked face now going cross-eyed as he tried to look at the icing on his nose.

“Here, just-” Poe leant forward and swiped the icing off of Finn’s nose with his finger before offering it to him.

Finn moved towards him and wrapped his mouth around the other man’s finger, licking off the icing and smiling at the sweet taste of it. Poe felt a hot flush creeping up the back of his neck and wanted to do nothing more than leap towards Finn and close the distance between their mouths but Finn seemed oblivious as to what was happening as he was preoccupied with the new, interesting taste of the icing. Poe felt cursed himself for acting so childish, he felt just like a teenager again.

“I like it.” Finn stated, moving away again and looking at the cupcakes.

“Right.” Poe breathed heavily. “Now you’ve just got to squeeze the icing all over the top of the cakes and then they’re ready to eat.”

The men began to icing the cakes together, Finn drawing the icing in delicate spirals on top of the cupcakes, mirroring Poe.

“Look! It’s you!” Finn giggled and Poe looked to see that he had drawn a face with a curly mop of hair on top of one of the cakes.

Poe laughed and copied by drawing a portrait of Finn on one of his cupcakes.

“There you go. Now we have one each.” He set the icing bag down on the counter and picked up both of the cupcakes with their faces on them. “Are you ready to try them?”

Poe handed Finn the cupcake with his face on it and simultaneously they both took a bite out of their own cake.

Finn’s eyes closed slowly and he groaned in amazement. Poe smiled wide and watched the other man as he finished his mouthful and immediately took another bite.

“I’m guessing you like them then?” Poe laughed, and Finn answered by nodding quickly in agreement, his cheeks full. “Well, good. Just don’t go eating them all at once.”

*

They made their way back to Finn’s room quickly, Finn laughing loudly and metaphorically bouncing off the walls because of all the sugar. Poe almost told him to quieten down for fear of waking up the others but he didn’t have the heart to; hyper Finn really was just so damn cute.

“Right, come on into bed then.” Poe pressed the button to open the door to Finn’s room, balancing the case of cakes in one hand. “You don’t want to be too tired for tomorrow.”

Finn took the cakes off him and set them down on the desk opposite his bed before sitting down on the bed and beginning to take off his shoes. As soon as he sat down Finn became incredibly sleepy and Poe had to help his get his boots off properly before pushing him back into the bed and covering him with his sheets.

“Thank you for showing me the cupcakes, Poe.” Finn whispered, gazing up at the other man. “Can we make them again sometime?”

“Sure, Big Deal. Just tell me when.” Poe replied as he stoked Finn’s hair tenderly before getting up to leave.

Poe glanced back at Finn, curled up underneath his covers now, as he switched off the lights and walked back to his own room alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so so much for all your lovely comments, im so glad you're all enjoying this fic and it just motivates me more. thank you! <3


	3. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay for this chapter but I've been kinda busy with exams, I hope it was worth the wait though. Thank you for all your lovely comments, you're all so sweet. <3

Poe slowly lowered the X-wing onto the plains of Toola, switching the dials above his head as the wheels came to rest on the fresh snow. Finn was pressed up beside him, curled around the pilot’s chair in the only available space there was without him sitting directly on Poe’s lap. He was snoring softly, a smile on his face and Poe felt a gentle twinge in his chest as he was tempted to reach down and stroke the other man’s hair.

Poe shifted slightly in his seat and lent down to shake Finn’s shoulder gently.

“Wake-y wake-y, Big Deal.” Poe whispered as Finn’s eyes opened and he blinked repeatedly, dazzled by the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow around them.

As soon as Finn regained consciousness fully he shot upright, gripping the arms of Poe’s pilot seat.

“Is that-” Finn started.

“Snow!” Poe exclaimed, looking to Finn to register his reaction.

“Snow is cold and horrible.” Finn stated, looking up to Poe in confusion, remembering the constant blizzards back at Starkiller Base.

“Now, Finn. That’s where you’re wrong.” Poe rolled his eyes before flashing a smile, “Snow is fun and awesome and  _great_ to play in.”

“Play?” Finn asked skeptically, wondering how the freezing mass of ice could ever be considered fun.

“Yes! Like snowmen and snow-angels and whatever the hell kids do these days.” Poe grinned, “Now, come on.”

Poe pushed Finn into the main compartment of the X-wing and picked up the coats and other winter supplies he’d grabbed from the resistance base storeroom. They each dressed each other up in the thick layers, Poe taking great amusement in wrapping a long scarf all the way around Finn’s head so that only his eyes were showing.

Finn groaned and pulled the off the scarf swiftly before pulling down Poe’s hat over his face, laughing loudly.

“You look like such a dork!” Finn wheezed between giggles as Poe struggle to lift the hat up so that he could see, turning around wildly in search of Finn’s voice.

“You’ll see who looks like a dork when I completely smash you at snowballs.” Poe shouted back, finally pulling the hat from his head and setting his mane of curly locks free. “Anyway, we better get a move on.”

Poe grabbed Finn’s hand, appreciating the warmth he felt through the other man’s glove in the cold as they made their way down onto the ground. They both jumped down and stopped, taking in the sights of the planet around them.

Finn breathed out heavily into the air, creating a large cloud of condensation in front of him and Poe mimicked him, shooting the other a soft smile because of their childish behaviour.

Poe backed off a little from the other man and bent down to gather up a fistful of snow in his palm, compressing it into a small ball. He stepped back further and lifted up the snowball, aiming at the other man, who still stood oblivious looking at the snow around him.

Poe shouted as he threw the ball and let it clip the edge of Finn’s neck.

“Gotcha!”

Finn reacted, ducking almost a second too late. He swung round and glared at Poe, his expression soon turning mischievous as both men bent down and began making snowballs at the same time.

Finn was the first to throw another, accompanied by a squeal from Poe as the cold crystals made their way into the back of his coat. Finn let out a hearty laugh and immediately began on more ammunition, knowing that a response from Poe would follow quickly.

He was right, as soon after a snowball hit him, making impact just above his knee. It was followed swiftly by another which glanced off his chest, spraying the snow all over Finn.

“You know, for the best pilot in the Galaxy you really do have a crappy shot.” Finn stated, laughing as he threw another, landing square on Poe’s chest.

“How do you know I’m not just going easy on you?” Poe said breathlessly, his cheeks flushed pink in the cold.

Finn turned his head to the side, miming being in deep thought, “Or maybe it's just because you just suck at playing snowballs?” Finn suggested, grinning.

“Oh yeah?” Poe challenged, gathering up a large lump of snow.

“Yeah.” Finn agreed, his face turning stern in competition.

Poe tried to throw a large snowball towards Finn, his arms spreading wide, but only managed to spray the both of them with a covering of soft snow. This made Finn erupt in laughter as Poe glared at him, chunks of snow hanging down in front of his eyes.

Quickly, while Poe pretended be angry at his failed attempt at a super snowball, Finn gathered up a load of snowballs that he compressed extra tightly and threw them all at Poe in quick succession.

Poe was caught by surprise as the snowballs landed in the centre of his chest. He stepped back suddenly and slipped over, landing on his bottom in the snow as he let out a loud ' _oomph'_.

“Are you alright?” Finn quickly dashed over to check on the other man, leaning down on one knee to meet his gaze.

“Yes, I’m  _fine_. It takes more than a couple of snowballs from an amateur to make me feel something.” Poe joked.

“Whatever you say.” Finn laughed, and joined him by sitting next to him in the snow. “So, whats next on the grand list of snow related activities? I have to admit it’s not as bad as I remember.”

“See?” Poe nudged the other man with his shoulder, “I knew I’d convert you.”

“It’s just that snow to me is the snow back at Starkiller Base, and that meant painfully long drills in the freezing wet all day.” Finn admitted. “It still never snowed like this before though, the weather was always so extreme there.”

“Well let me tell you, snow-angels are much better than Stormtrooper drills.” Poe smiled, “Speaking of which-”

Poe leaned back into the snow, making sure to put his hood up to cover his head and laid out across the ground.

“Do you know how to do snow-angels?” Poe asked.

Finn shook his head. “I’m not sure I know what angels are.” He admitted.

“They’re from an old Earth story; they’re a bit like saviours or guardians for someone.” Poe explained

Finn nodded before allowing the other man to continue.

"They rescue people and give guidance, they're similar to the old Gods of Age from Galantos."

"Okay."

“Lie down here, and make sure you put your hood up so you don’t get too cold.” Poe looked up at him, blinking in the bright light and patted the space next to him. “I suppose we could always huddle for warmth if that happens anyway.”

Poe winked and lay back down again, snowflakes beginning to fall gently onto his face. Finn, obliviously to the joke grinned and zipped up his coat before lying back onto the snow.

“Now,” Poe shuffled away from the other man a little to make space for their arms. “You’ve just got to make a star shape like this-”

Poe stretched out his arms and legs either side of him and Finn looked over to copy his movements, taking the process more seriously than was perhaps necessary.

“Now what?”

“Well, my young padawan-” Poe grinned.

“Don’t.” Finn interrupted in a warning tone, shaking his head as a small smile played on his lips.

Poe groaned at Finn’s lack of enthusiasm and rolled his eyes.

“ _Anyway,_ before I was so rudely interrupted, you just have to sweep your arms and legs back and forth in the snow in make indents in the snow.”

Poe did as he described and Finn copied him, their limbs making deep troughs in the fresh snow.

“Then.” Poe jumped up and bend down to grab Finn’s hand to help him up as well. Both men looked down at their creations in front of them.

“Then,” Poe repeated, “You’ve made an angel, the spaces your arms made are the wings and where your legs were made the gown. Do you see?”

Finn nodded and smiled as the snow before him began to form an image.

“Shall we make another one?” Poe suggested, already dashing over to an untouched spread of snow.

Finn grinned and rushed after him before launching himself into a large snowdrift.

Poe laughed as Finn quickly and methodically got into the exact position Poe had shown him and got to work on his first proper snow-angel.

Poe did the same and took their time, finding comfort in the cool surroundings as they rhythmically swept their arms back and forth.

“Wait.” Finn stopped and rolled over towards Poe, almost pressing up against him as he propped himself up on the ground with one arm. “If angels are saviours, does that mean you’re my angel?”

Finn blinked up at Poe, his large brown eyes wide in the shade of the other man.

Poe blushed and let out a small chuckle, “Not quite, Big Deal. Not quite.”

“But you helped me get away from the First Order, you helped save me.” Finn stated.

“Yes, but angels are something bit more special than that,” Poe smiled. “A bit more like you than me.”


	4. Swimming

“Uh-oh.”

Finn stepped forward and the great expanse of the sea came into view. Poe had landed them in a small moon a number of parsecs away for the fourth item on their list and Finn did not like the look of it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Poe piped up from behind him. “It always reminds me a bit of Naboo, but hopefully without the Sando Monsters.”

Poe laughed as he mimicked a shiver at the thought of the sandos while Finn whipped his head around at the mention of it.

“There isn’t really going to be any monsters here, is there?” Finn asked, looking doubtful.

“No, of course not. The seas here aren’t even deep enough for them.”

The two men looked out onto the clear, blue sea ahead of them, slowly lapping at the beach as they both sat down on the sand.

“Do you know how to swim?” Poe asked, turning his head to look at the other man.

 “Yes,” Finn fidgeted with his hands in his lap. “It was part of our original training but we never put it into practice, I haven’t done it since before all of the major conditioning.”

“Alrighty, we best get practicing then.” Poe grinned as we jumped up from where he was sat and took off his skin-tight flying shirt that he usually wore underneath his pilot uniform.

Finn’s breath caught in his throat as the other man’s torso was exposed to the warm air, he swallowed quietly before letting his jaw hang slightly as his eyes dragged over the toned body before him.

Finn had never really seen a man in this way before, or anyone for that matter. It was only since he escaped the First Order that he even entertained the possibility of a normal life, with someone there to live it with him. Everything was so new and exciting, he could barely handle it all, but having Poe there with him to see it through made it that bit easier, even if he was one of the things Finn was beginning to experience for the first time too.

Poe, oblivious to the rapt attention he was receiving, dumped his top on the sand where he was sitting before looking down at Finn.

“Come on then, get your kit off!” Poe winked and Finn’s cheeks turned red. “We’ve got to get you back in the water somehow.”

Finn stood up and slowly began to take off the numerous layers of clothing he had on, he’d begun to love the soft, hand-made clothing worn by the resistance, and it was so much nicer and more comforting that the hard plastic armour he had to wear as a Stormtrooper.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Finn mutter as he took off his top and bottoms while Poe watched intently,

“Woah, woah, okay leave some to the imagination, Big Deal.” Poe said slyly, gesturing to the few remaining items of clothing that were still left on Finn.

“I’m just getting down to my training shorts, okay?” Finn rolled his eyes. “Not that you would mind anyway.”

Finn raised his eyebrows towards the other man as he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Let’s take one item of the list at a time.” He winked again as Finn groaned with exasperation.

After this, Finn quickly finished getting undressed leaving the two men in their under uniform training trousers.

“Let’s go.”

“What are we doing here, apart from swimming?” Finn asked.

“Well, apart from the lovely sea, this Dorumaa is famous for its reef life so we are going to go for a bit of fish spotting.” Poe smiled, looking up at the other man.

“That sounds cool, I haven’t seen them before in real life.” Finn returned the smile as they reached the shore, stopping only to allow their toes to touch the warm water.

“You ready?” Poe asked, “it’s not cold I promise.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Finn stepped into the water, letting the frothy, white waves lap at his dark legs as he waded further in. Soon both men had the water up to their waists, and Finn began to slow down as he became wary of the water around him.

“Here.” Poe stretched out his hands for Finn to take, gesturing for them to go under together.

Finn clasped his hands in both of Poe’s as they stepped out a little deeper and, as led by Poe, let themselves crouch until their shoulders were covered.

The sea was extremely calm and clear and for the whole time Finn could see the rest of his body, watch the steps he was taking on the ocean floor, the only disturbance being the rhythmic roll of the waves coming in from out at sea. Both men fell into silence as they waded deeper, still holding hands and almost waltzing as they spun to view the moon around them.

Soon the men reached the point where they were soon to be out of their depth and Poe stopped to talk to Finn.

“You remember all the basic swimming stuff right? Like kicking and paddling?” Finn nodded, “Right then, just remember to relax and work with the water, I’m here the whole time and I won’t let go unless you want me to, okay?”

Finn wanted to tell him that although he was semi-confident about swimming, he never wanted to let go of Poe’s hands but instead just nodded and followed Poe out deeper.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much water in my life.” Finn admitted, “There’s so much blue.”

“It’s so calming, isn’t it? But it also makes me realise how small we are in relation to everything else, and the forces of nature.”

“I can see that.” Finn agreed.

“Okay, there’s a drop here where the floor goes out onto the reefs, do you want to float here for a bit to get your bearings first?”

“Yes, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.”

Finn broke away so they were only connected by one hand, and began to gradually wave out his arms, starting to tread water.

The water was warm and felt silky smooth, churning around his legs as he paddled. It was nothing like the cold water from his training that seems to leave scratches on him after every wave.

The ball of nervousness that had been gathering in his stomach began to unravel, the man beside him helping Finn be at ease.

“Ok, I think I’m ready.” Finn said after a while.

“Alright, we’re going to swim out a little deeper so we can see the fish but we won’t dive properly until you’re ready.”

Finn nodded and they broke away completely to swim breaststroke out into the sea, avoiding the masses of seaweed that swirled around them.

“Okay, let’s stop here.” Poe said as he slowed down and began treading water to keep himself afloat. “We’ve gone over the ledge so below us should be the reef.”

For the first time, Finn properly looked at the sea floor beneath him, it was a mass of swirling, bright colours, blurred by the ripples he sent through the water every time he breathed.

“If we flow on our stomachs, we can look down at the coral reefs, just as long as you remember to come up for air.” Poe shot him a smile as he drifted towards him.

“Alright, I can do that.” Finn gave a confident nod and took a deep breath before turning onto his front in the water, spreading out his limbs to allow himself to float.

Poe watched for a moment, taking in the excited look in the other man’s eyes before doing the same.

Both the men looked beneath them, the water now clear to see through and gazed at the shoals of coloured fish that swam a few lengths from their faces.

“Look!” Finn tried to shout underwater, letting out a stream of bubbles from his face, pointing at a large pink fish that swum lazily along the bottom.

“That’s a Hikata fish.” Poe resurfaced with Finn as he gasped for air. “Very pretty, tasty too.”

“Can we swim down?” Finn asked excitedly, his eyes wide.

Poe laughed, “Of course we can! This is for _you,_ remember?”

“Yeah, but you’ve got to enjoy it to.” Finn grinned and wiped the water from his eyes.

“Ah, anything with you I’ll enjoy, my friend.” Poe replied, “But first we have to get the basics of the fish down. The small grey ones? They’re scale fish and very friendly so you can do what you want with them.”

Finn nodded as Poe continued, “Now, the big yellow ones, they’re the fluke fish and will take your fingers off at the first chance they get so keep your mits to yourself.”

“Is there many dangerous fish here?” Finn asked warily.

“No,” Poe shook his head. “There’s a couple of big fish that don’t like being bother but apart from that, it’s just the fluke fish. Ready?”

“Yep.” Finn nodded and grabbed Poe’s hand from under the water, making the other man smile softly in his direction.

“Let’s go then.”

Together they dived, kicking their legs in unison as the swum down to the bottom, clearing a path for themselves as the fish darted away. They reached a point about a metre or so from the bottom and held themselves there, paddling gently to stop themselves from floating back up again. As they waited the sea life began to return to their usual patterns like before they disturbed them.

Finn and Poe stayed there paddling, pointing out the fish to each other as they went past. Finn moved his lips to mumble the names of the fish that Poe had told him, pointing at them and clarifying it whether he had remembered correctly with the other man.

They carried on doing this for what seemed like hours, discovering new species and types of fish as time went on with breaks to the surface for air, exchanging heart felt glances between them when the other wasn’t looking.

Poe began squeezing Finn’s hand, hard, after one of their trips to the surface and back down into the reef. Finn turned to the other man in confusion to see Poe grinning and pointing towards a large sea turtle that was slowly making its way towards them.

Finn’s eyes went wide, remembering not to open his mouth this time and began shaking Poe’s arm in his own _‘are you seeing this?!’_ way. A smile stretched across Poe’s face as he acknowledged the other man. Finn began to move close to the approaching turtle but Poe held his back, shaking his hand and motioning to him to allow the turtle to come close by itself.

The turtle was longer than Finn was tall and had a dark, shimmering shell that reflected off the sunlight that travelled downwards in beams through the water. Finn had never seen anything as big or as beautiful that was also as calm and relaxed as this creature. It blinked slowly as it began to sweep past them, its fins making waves that rolled into the men.

Finn reached out his hand and let it gently brush against the animal’s shell as it went past, feeling the smooth, cool exterior and the scutes that made up the intricate patterns of the shell.

Poe watched as Finn touched the sea turtle in wonder, and smiled softly before copying his actions and touching the shell too. Reactions like this were the reason Poe had wanted to get Finn to do the list in the first place, to open up a world to him that he may never have experienced before.

Soon, the turtle was gone on its way, the men watching it swim out of sight before kicking and propelling themselves towards the surface for air.

“That was awesome!” Finn exclaimed as soon as his head had broken the surface, “Did you see that?”

Poe laughed, “Of course I did! I was right there with you!”

“I’ve never seen a turtle before, I didn’t even realise they could get that big.” Finn breathed hard.

“Just be glad that wasn’t a Gampassa turtle, you can fit villages underneath their shells.” Poe replied, laughing again at the shocked look on Finn’s face.

“Really?” Finn coughed, trying to keep afloat. “There’s so many things I don’t know about this galaxy.”

“You’ll learn more, don’t worry.” Poe smiled, “For now we better get back to shore, it’s getting late.”

Finn’s face dropped but nodded anyway as he began to realise how tired he really was after all the swimming.

They swum back to shore in silence, grins still present on both of their faces as their arms cut through the water. They were soon able to walk on the sea floor and emerged from the water.

Finn’s hand grabbed Poe’s arm suddenly, stopping them both.

“I just,” Finn started, looking down at the other man, his eyes soft. “I just wanted to say thank you for today, you’re a good man, Poe.”

A large, genuine smile spread out across Poe’s face as he nodded, blushing slightly. He returned the gesture by rubbing Finn’s arm back as they started walking again before letting his hand slide down to Finn’s as he took the other man’s hand in his, rubbing comforting circles into the soft, brown skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these fish do exist in the star wars universe just not really as i've described them but if i do get anything terribly wrong please do not fail to tell me as i'm not really a huge buff on the old stuff. hope you enjoyed :)


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